Ducks, Geese , and Swans
(Anatidae)
Special Segments General Topics
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Ducks, Geese , and Swans (Anatidae) |
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Special Segments General Topics
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A Field Guide to Eastern Birds. by Roger Tory Peterson.
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The ducks and geese are a familiar, but diverse, group of birds. Almost all of the species are aquatic, although some species (such as the geese are at least partially terrestrial. The ducks can usually be recognized by their webbed feet. Food sources for the group are diverse. Many species eat mostly aquatic vegetation, although even these species usually eat the occasional aquatic insect. Others utilize other prey such as mollusks and crustaceans used by Sea Ducks and the fish caught by the Mergansers. Some species float in their aquatic habitats eating the aquatic vegetation that comes their way. Other duck species are strong divers, diving and swimming underwater to catch their prey. Ducks are commonly sexually dimorphic with brightly colored males and drab females. There are about 150 species worldwide. Forty species breed in North America, all of them occurring at one time or another in the eastern half of the continent.
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| Ducks and Geese Arranged Systematically Whistling Ducks
Swans
Geese
Wood Ducks
Surface Feeding Ducks
Bay Ducks
Goldeneyes
Sea Ducks
Mergansers
Stiff-tailed Ducks
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Ducks and Geese Arranged Alphabetically by Common Name
American Black Duck (Anas rubripes) American Wigeon (Anas americana) Barrow's Goldeneye (Bucephala islandica) Black Scoter (Melanitta nigra) Blue-winged Teal (Anas discors) Brant (Branta bernicla) Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola) Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) Canvasback (Aythya valisineria) Cinnamon Teal (Anas cyanoptera) Common Eider (Somateria mollissima) Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula) Common Merganser (Mergus merganser) Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope) Fulvous Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna bicolor) Gadwell (Anas strepera) Greater Scaup (Aythya marila) Greater White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons) Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca) Harlequin Duck (Histrionicus histrionicus) Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus) King Eider (Somateria spectabilis) Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis) Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) Masked Duck (Oxyura dominica) Mottled Duck (Anas fulvigula) Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) Northern Pintail (Anas acuta) Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata) Oldsquaw (Clangula hyemalis) Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator) Redhead (Aythya americana) Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris) Ross' Goose (Chen rossii) Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis) Snow Goose (Chen caerulescens) Surf Scoter (Melanitta perspicillata) Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus) White-winged Scoter (Melanitta fusca) Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) |
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